Tennessee's win against UConn showed why the rest of the SEC is going to hate Nico Iamaleava
Tennessee Vols true freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the No. 1 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class, only played two series against UConn last weekend, but that was enough to know that the rest of the SEC is going to hate him. And that's a good thing if you're a Vols fan. Nico, who won't […]
Tennessee Vols true freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the No. 1 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class, only played two series against UConn last weekend, but that was enough to know that the rest of the SEC is going to hate him.
And that's a good thing if you're a Vols fan.
Nico, who won't be hated because of his personality (he's hard working and incredibly humble — essentially the perfect teammate), quickly showed that he has a skillset that's going to drive opposing fans and defensive coordinators crazy.
Again UConn, the talented freshman showed impressive pocket presence and escapability — two skills that are necessary to thrive in the SEC.
It was the play he made on his first career touchdown pass, however, that made me instantly think about how frustrating Nico is going to be for opposing fan bases.
On first glance, it looked like Nico started to take off toward the end zone before seeing tight end McCallan Castles open.
That little move that Nico made toward the line of scrimmage was for a reason. According to Castles, Nico made that move to make the linebacker hesitate for a brief moment, which created a window to get the ball to Castles.
"Nico gave him (the linebacker) a little dip and brought that linebacker forward and then he just ripped one right behind the ref," said Castles.
That's the kind of stuff that elite quarterbacks do in the moment. It's something that's nearly impossible to teach. You either have it or you don't It's not the same play, but it kind of reminds me of the fake jump pass that former Florida QB Anthony Richardson made last season against Utah.
Nico is obviously an extremely talented quarterback, but he's also a playmaker. And I have a very strong feeling that we're going to see more of what he did against UConn — on a much larger scale — next season, much to the chagrin of the rest of the SEC.
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